Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says Romelu Lukaku is a player who "likes
to speak" but adds that he has "never" explained why went out
on loan

Jose Mourinho has accused Romelu Lukaku of being overly talkative with the press and said the Belgian striker needed to explain why he was on loan at Everton rather than fighting for a place at Chelsea.

Lukaku has scored seven goals in eight Premier League games since signing for Everton on transfer deadline day, his muscular performances in attack drawing comparisons with Didier Drogba and leading many to question Mourinho’s wisdom in letting him go.

With Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o out for at least a fortnight with a groin injury, Mourinho was asked again about Lukaku on Friday, and in particular about an interview the 20-year-old gave to the BBC in which he claimed he had had no contact with Chelsea for “a couple of months”.

“Romelu likes to speak,” Mourinho said. “He’s a young boy who likes to speak. But the only thing he didn’t say is why he went to Everton on loan. That’s the only thing he never says. And my last contact with him was to tell him exactly that. ‘Why do you never say why you are not here?’ ”

Asked to what he was referring, Mourinho said he would not comment for “ethical reasons” but alluded to an interview Lukaku gave after one of his goals.

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“One day he scored and said he ‘hoped Jose was watching’... like saying ‘why did he let me go?’ And that’s what I’m telling him now: tell the country why you left.”

Lukaku told Telegraph Sport last month that it was “unfair to criticise” Mourinho for allowing him to go out on loan, as it had been his decision.

Asked whether he had been happy to let Lukaku go, Mourinho said: “I’m happy that he’s scoring goals against our direct rivals, and he doesn’t score against us because he can’t. But he’s there. It’s good for his evolution. It’s good for Chelsea because he belongs to us for a long time.

“I just think that, when you keep quiet all the time, you keep quiet all the time. When you enjoy to speak, speak everything. Don’t speak only half of it. It’s a simple question: ‘why did you leave Chelsea?’ Ask him. I have nothing more to say.”

Mourinho, who dismissed reports of moves for Real Madrid defender Fabio Coentrao and Porto striker Jackson Martínez, said David Luiz would not be ready for Southampton’s visit on Sunday after returning to first-team training only Friday.

The Chelsea manager added that he had no plans to splash out in January, with the squad that started the campaign “most probably” ending it. He also said that winning the title this season would be a greater achievement than when he won his first with the club in 2004.

“Yes, I think so,” Mourinho said. “History plays a role. To win when a club is not historically a winner is a hard step, so 2004 was a hard step. But winning the title this season would be a really good achievement.”